Too much sugar, salt and fat: healthy eating still eluding many Britons
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Version 0 of 1. The UK population is still eating far too much sugar, fat and salt, with people falling short of the five-a-day fruit and vegetable portions that have been recommended by health experts. Public Health England, releasing data for all of the UK, said it was clear that a lot more needed to be done to improve the British diet. "The data released today provides compelling evidence that we all need to make changes to our diet to improve our health, especially for teenagers," said Alison Tedstone, chief nutritionist at PHE. The sugar load of children and young people was particularly high, she said. The UK guidance is that sugar should not exceed 11% of our total energy intake, but for children aged four to 10, it is 14.7%, rising to 15.6% for 11- to 18-year-olds. A third of that comes from sugary soft drinks and fruit juice. The high sugar levels will concern those who believe sugar is the biggest contributor to the obesity problem. The World Health Organisation has recently urged countries to reduce sugar consumption to 10% of total energy, with an ambition to bring it down to 5%. The UK's recommended limit is 11%, a figure that does not include sugars from milk products. The data comes from the latest edition of the National Diet and Nutrition Survey. Every year a 1,000-strong sample representative of the population of the entire UK is surveyed. The latest publication incorporates findings from 2008/9 to 2011/12. The problem with diet surveys is that many people either forget what they have eaten or tailor their answers. The average calorie intake recorded by men in the survey was 2,111 calories, while women said they ate an average of 1,613 calories a day. That would suggest they were eating less than they needed. But, notes the report, tests have shown evidence of under-reporting; people do not reveal everything they have eaten. Cereals and cereal products contributed more calories to the daily diet than anything else, followed by meat, then dairy products. The UK recommends a saturated fat limit of 11% of all food energy, but every age group eats more than that. Mean saturated fat consumption in men aged 19 to 64 was 12.6%. The saturated fat tends to come mostly from dairy, cereal and meat products, although in younger children it is mostly from dairy items. Trans-fat levels are now low, following campaigns to expose the food products that contain them and put pressure on the industry to get rid of them. They amount to 0.6-0.7% of energy intake, well below the recommended 2% maximum. Salt intakes were above the guidance of 6g a day, at 7.2g for adults. Everybody was judged to be failing to get the recommended fruit and vegetable portions, the survey showed. Adults up to the age of 65 were found to be eating just over four portions a day, and older adults 4.6 portions. Teenage girls did worst, eating an average of 2.7 portions a day, while boys ate three. In the 11-18 age group, 10% of boys and 7% of girls managed five-a day, while 30% of adults and 41% of older adults achieved that level. "Eating a healthy, balanced, diet that is high in fruit, vegetables and fibre and low in saturated fat, sugar and salt, alongside being more active, will help you to maintain a healthy weight and lower your risk of developing heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers," said Tedstone. "The findings, from the four years covered by the survey, confirm that eating habits do not change quickly. It is clear that we all need to work together to help people improve their diets. This data will help PHE to target its work in the most effective way." |